‘What’s he planning?’

Chun Yeowun was sure that Chae Mun-tak had something planned, then feeling the oscillations of the ship gradually increasing in strength.

It was swaying less compared to other ships because of its size, but he could still feel it.

‘Is something coming from underneath the ship?’

Chun Yeowun judged quickly that if something was coming from the sea, he needed to create a defense first.

Jjkkk!

He decided to use Ice Qi, emitting a distinctly cold energy. Chun Yeowun, who held the purest form of energy in his body, covered the nearby sea area in just a few seconds.

‘Got it.’

Even though it was his first time, it seemed to be successful. The ship’s swaying stopped once an ice layer 2 meters thick was created. In addition, as the water froze, Chae Mun-tak’s fleeing ship also got caught in the ice.

“Thought you could run away?”

Chun Yeowun said to the avatar in his hand, which didn’t move. It was then,

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The ship, which he thought had finally calmed, shook as if it were being pounded by something in the sea.

“Lord!”

Baekgi ran to where Chun Yeowun was, thinking that the ship was acting unusually and was shocked when the sea froze.

“This… Lord, did you freeze all of this?”

Chun Yeowun nodded. At that, Baekgi wondered how much Chun Yeowun had grown.

‘… he is still a monster to me.’

Seong Mu-cheon said that his Lord had gone into the future due to an unexpected accident, and Baekgi figured that Chun Yeowun would grow steadily in the new environment. However, he was showing phenomenally exponential growth.

‘Is he Chun Ma?’1

Baekgi had amazing talent as well, but he couldn’t be compared to Chun Yeowun.

Shh!

At that moment, the golden-haired Gumiho in the appearance of a baby fox appeared from Chun Yeowun’s hands.

“A fox?”

Baekgi who looked at it seemed puzzled, but ignoring him, the Gumiho spoke to Chun Yeowun.

-There is something interesting down there, Chun Ma.

“… A talking fox?”

His eyes widened even more; he had been through hell and back with Chun Yeowun, but it was his first time seeing a talking fox.

-What, not satisfied?

Gumiho glared at Baekgi as if she was uncomfortable. Then, the ship shook and a loud roar broke out.

Bang! Thud! Bang!

They all looked at the epicenter at the same time.

“What is that?”

On the south side of the auction, where the VIP guests’ speedboats were kept. Something huge and long jutted out through the ice, and along it resembled the suckers of an octopus.

“Kyaaaal!”

“W-what is this?”

People on the speedboats began to scream. At first glance, the gigantic, thick and squirming tentacles as long as 15 to 20 meters were enough to make anyone scared. The whole creature looked like a large octopus.

But,

Shh!

“Eikk!”

On the gigantic suckers along the tentacles, what seemed to be eyeballs were constantly moving!

“What? A hazard entity?

“When did a Gate open?”

People had a gut feeling that this was a hazard entity, and unsurprisingly, the entity looked at the ship.

Grrr!

Three huge legs squirmed, trying to attack the speed boat with a whip.

“Ack!”

“R-run!”

It was then.

A huge tentacle that was trying to hit the ship at first then stopped at the sound of a blow.

Papapak!

From the top of the ship, someone was approaching the monster at a high speed.

“A giant octopus is certainly a difficult opponent to adjust to.”

It was Kohaku of Speed, who was contemplating stealing the valuable items on the ship but then decided that if he didn’t stop the monster, the ship would be buried there.

Shhh!

Of course, many others responded to the sudden appearance. Warriors who were famous in their respective nations took out their weapons, including Jack Oren.

“I just came to participate in the auction, but these annoying events keep occurring!”

Phat!

The man jumped and instantly flew towards the entity that threatened the state of the ship. This was the moment that the ship became a battlefield for the Gate Entity.

Meanwhile, on the dark ship about 300 meters away, the ship’s searchlights lit up the frozen surface in front.

Papak!

Thousands of people at the forefront were thawing and throwing bombs at the frozen water, as they wanted to move away as quickly as possible.

“What happened to the motor?”

“I’m trying to thaw the frozen parts, but it’ll take another ten minutes.”

“Fucking shit!”

It would take the crew another 10 minutes to break the ice and continue moving. Everyone in the ship looked at Chae Mun-tak, who was peering out at the auction board very far away. More and more tentacles began to pop out from the sea.

Papapa!

“It’s grown bigger.”

It was much larger than when they had first caught it seven years ago. The Kraken didn’t have a limit to the amount of tentacles, far exceeding the 8 or 10 of the squid or octopus. If that person hadn’t been there, they wouldn’t have been able to catch it.

Thud!

Someone opened the door to the wheelhouse he was in and entered. A middle-aged man in his forties took off his mask, revealing a grim face.

“Mr. Cheol-ryeong!”

It was Cheol-ryeong.

Thanks to the frozen lake, he managed to run over to the ship without a problem.

“What happened? Can we move the boat?”

One of the crewmates in the wheelhouse answered,

“If we can resolve the motor issue, it might be possible to operate the ship.”

“Might? Do you think we have room for possibility right now?”

Cheol-ryeong looked at them and yelled. He had a rough time coming here so he was being impatient.

“That monster-like bastard might come after…”

“Be calm, Cheol-ryeong.”

“Senior researcher?”

“There’s enough time. Look at that.”

The place he pointed to was where the huge tentacles were coming up from the frozen ground. It looked like 12 tentacles were coming out.

Bang!

Warriors of each nation were guarding their own speed boats but the ships attached to the auction board were destroyed. People who weren’t armed were screaming.

“It… grew.”

Cheol-ryeong said, shocked. It was no exaggeration to say it grew twice, or even thrice from when they had first seen it. It was originally an A-class Alpha entity, but now, it seemed to have grown into an S-class.

“Do you think they can deal with that monster in those ten minutes and come after us?”

“But—”

“He won’t come for us.”

“Huh?”

“The world calls him a hero now.”

Chun Yeowun was heralded as the hero who solved the TRA crisis. Thanks to that, the public saw all of the Yongchun Group and the Sky Demon Order in a good light.

Chae Mun-tak was aiming to take advantage of the fame that Chun Yeowun had.

“Ah! Chun Mu-seong can’t run away from his reputation.”

“Those warriors are the kind of people obsessed with fame, especially the ones leading a huge group.”

Chae Mun-tak chuckled. Although it would be a loss if they lost their guests, he was sure they would find more.

“Not much time is left.”

5 minutes had passed; just a little more, and they would be out.

Drrr!

At that moment, the ship shook and the engine motors spun. One of the crew shouted,

“The motor side has been defrosted!”

At that, Chae Mun-tak smiled.

“See that? We don’t have to rush. Once we get out–”

“R-researcher!”

With a pale face, Cheol-ryeong was pointing somewhere, and Chae Mun-tak turned to take a look.

‘!?’

Someone was standing outside the wheelhouse: Chun Yeowun, in the shadows.

‘W-why is he here?’

He didn’t have the time to be shocked as Chun Yeowun quickly put his finger on the window.

Chachacha!

The window shattered, sending a flurry of shards inside.

Papapak!

“Kuak!”

“Ack!”

Glass shards pierced the bodies of the crew members.

“No!”

Cheol-ryeong tried to protect Chae Mun-tak with his body, but–

“Stand aside.”

When Chun Yeowun swung his hand,

“Ugh!”

Kwakwang!

Cheol-ryeong’s body exploded through the wall and flew out. It was surprising, considering how many layers of iron and wood were broken.

“Cheol-ryeong!”

His escort was strong, but not strong enough to counter Chun Yeowun.

“Worried about him?”

Chun Yeowun motioned as if he were pulling something. Chae Mun-tak’s body, which was about to run away, was dragged towards Chun Yeowun.

Woong!

“D-damn it!”

At the thought of being caught, he decided to finally display his ability. His right hand glowed red as his left hand shimmered in white frost.

His powers demonstrated the duality of heat and cold; he could burn with the right hand and freeze with the left.

“You idiot.”

It was an ability that could work if used as a surprise attack, but Chun Yeowun instantly formed a sword.

Slash!

“Ugh?”

Both of Chae Mun-tak’s arms were slashed right away. If warriors with decades of training couldn’t bear the pain of their arms being cut, how would an ordinary person given an ability handle it?

“Kuaaaak!”

His screamings seemed to be unending as blood kept flowing. If the bleeding wasn’t stopped soon he would surely die from blood loss, so Chun Yeowun sealed the blood points on his shoulder to stop the bleeding.

It was only a temporary measure, however. If the man was left alone, he would die from the shock of bleeding. Chun Yeowun went and sat in the captain’s chair of the wheelhouse, calling for Chae Mun-tak’s body with his hand.

‘I-is he a God?’

He was able to do unbelievable things.

“You seem ready to talk now. Chae Mun-tak, was it?”

At Chun Yeowun’s words, the man bit his lip.

‘Jo Hogi! That bastard!’

There was no one else who would disclose his name. He was worried about everything that that man could have told Chun Yeowun. Chae Mun-tak glanced outside, seeing the auction board in chaos with the Kraken’s legs.

“W-why… ugh… aren’t you… helping them?”

Chun Yeowun laughed and asked,

“Why should I?”

“What?”

He was stunned at the answer for a second.

“I-if you don’t save them… your reputation… will be… damaged…”

Grab!

Chun Yeowun grabbed Chae Mun-tak by his hair.

“Kuak!”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something. In your eyes, do I look like one of the Forces of Justice bastards?”

‘!?’

“Why would I want to lose myself in order to save people I don’t even know?”

At those words, Chae Mun-tak felt as if he were hit on the head with a hammer.

He thought Chun Yeowun was just another Murim bastard who was after name and fame, but this assumption turned out to be a foolish mistake.

‘T-this man is…’

Until the very end, Chun Yeowun only moved according to his own ideals of practicality.